The apparatus and method of this invention permits handling of bulky and heavy products in industrial and warehouse settings yet minimizes the physical labor required by workers.
More specifically, the apparatus and method of this invention relates to a means for loading or unloading cargo from a transportation vehicle. Such cargo can be, for example, paper, boxes, plastic bags or coffee bean bags. Such transportation vehicles can be, for example, semi-trailer trucks or railroad cars. Although this invention is described in terms of its applicability to handling bags of coffee beans transported in a semi-trailer truck, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to that specific application.
Coffee beans are generally transported in bags weighing between 100 pounds (45.36 Kg) and 150 pounds (68.04Kg). These bags usually arrive at a processing plant by semi-trailer truck. These bags must then be transferred from the semi-trailer truck to a position inside the processing plant for subsequent processing.
Typically these bags are removed from the semi-trailer truck by workers. These workers stack the bags on pallets which are then carried by a forklift or similar mechanism to appropriate positions in the processing plant. Alternatively, a conveyor belt can be used to remove the bags from the semi-trailer truck. However, this alternate method also requires workers to place the bags on the conveyor belt and to remove the bags from the discharge end of the conveyor belt and place them on pallets. In addition, this alternate method requires the conveyor belt to be constantly moved forwardly into the body of the semi-trailer truck as the bags are removed therefrom.
Both of these methods of unloading the contents of a semi-trailer truck have several disadvantages. For example, both methods are relatively inefficient because of the plurality of workers needed to place the bags on a conveyor belt to unload the semi-trailer truck. In addition, both methods require substantial physical labor which can be strenuous unless ample safety precautions are observed.